Taunton schools keeping an eye on threat of EEE

The city’s school system has not canceled outdoor after-school activities due to the threat of EEE, but is monitoring the situation as the mosquito-borne virus continues to be detected in insects in several surrounding towns, including Dighton and Rehoboth.

The city’s school system has not canceled outdoor after-school activities due to the threat of EEE, but is monitoring the situation as the mosquito-borne virus continues to be detected in insects in several surrounding towns, including Dighton and Rehoboth.

“Each year around this time we talk about whether to suspend activities from dusk to dawn,” Superintendent Julie Hackett said.

City health officials, she said, told her Wednesday that there was not currently a specific threat in Taunton.

“At this time, we’re not talking about suspending after-school activities, but we could in the future,” she said.

Hackett said that if it determines the threat of EEE reaches a severe level, the local Board of Health would issue an advisory based on the state Department of Public Health’s recommendations.

“There is a certain trigger point ...” Hackett said. “As soon as that happens, we would cancel activities immediately.”

School Committee member Christine Fagan, who is also a member of the Bristol County Mosquito Control Commission, shared fresh data with the committee at a meeting Wednesday, including that two mosquito pools in Dighton, one in Rehoboth, four in Easton and one in Mansfield have now tested positive for EEE this summer. There have also been positive tests for West Nile virus in mosquito samples from numerous communities, including Taunton, Raynham and Dighton.

“There is a concern,” Fagan said. “I think the thing is to err on the side of caution.

The DPH confirmed Tuesday that a Norfolk county woman has died after contracting EEE, the first case of a human becoming infected in Massachusetts this year. The virus, also called Eastern equine encephalitis, is characterized by a swelling of the brain. Its symptoms include high fever, stiff neck, headache and lack of energy. The symptoms may not appear until three to 10 days after a bite from an infected mosquito.

Over the past 10 years, 24 people in Massachusetts have been infected with EEE, 13 of whom died. In 2011, Raynham resident Martin Newfield died after contracting the virus.

The DPH on Wednesday raised the EEE risk level to high in the towns of Hanover, Hanson, Rockland, Weymouth and Whitman.

Public health officials recommend limiting exposure to mosquitoes by using insect repellent, removing standing water and limiting outdoor activities during evening and nighttime hours.

The DPH classified the majority of Bristol County as being at a low EEE risk as of Wednesday, with the exceptions of Rehoboth, Easton, Raynham and New Bedford, which were also classified as moderate. Much of neighboring Plymouth County, including Lakeville, Middleboro and Bridgewater, is at a moderate risk.